HC Wainwright Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Free Report) in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $102.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VKTX. Maxim Group decreased their target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $120.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.75.

Viking Therapeutics Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:VKTX traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $25.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,999,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,053,875. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.18 and a beta of 0.84. Viking Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $18.92 and a twelve month high of $81.86. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $26.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.34.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.10). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.26) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viking Therapeutics will post -1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In other news, Director Sarah Kathryn Rouan acquired 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.15 per share, for a total transaction of $29,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,946. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $1,715,000. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Viking Therapeutics by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 80,602 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,243,000 after buying an additional 44,365 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,715,000 after buying an additional 21,627 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $475,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $528,000. 76.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's lead drug candidate is VK2809, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRß), which is in Phase IIb clinical trials to treat patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as well as NAFLD.